Shadowhunter Series - A Crown of Thorns
by livinginafiction
Summary: Ava Blackthorn returns to the New York Institute 10 years after she left, unsure what to expect. Jace and the Lightwood family missed her, but so much has changed. She finds herself torn between the Shadowhunters and her ancestral home, The Seelie Court, when she's asked to become a liaison for the two communities. What life will she choose? (Eventual Jace x OC, Clace, Malec)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – A Rose with Black Thorns

I took one last drag of my cigarette, watching the smoke mingle and dance in the crisp autumn air for a moment before I stepped into the Institute. Much like the glamour on the exterior of the church, I could feel my own mask gliding on with practiced grace. Just in time - as it so happened that a man pacing in the corridor was the first to see me. He turned at the sound of my boots clicking on the smooth stone floor and I braced myself for a potentially awkward reunion. Even after _10 years_ , a spark of recognition burst into life the moment our eyes met. His hair, tied away from his face, was coming undone as golden strands softly brushed against his cheek when he turned to see me. Jace Herondale. The few steps between us seemed vast, as if we couldn't hear each other even if we did have the courage to speak. Jace took the first step towards me and the tension finally broke after what felt like days of silence. Much to my chagrin, tears started to well in my eyes as he walked towards me and swept me up into a tight hug.

"Ava", he whispered reverently, just as the tears began to fall.

We held each other for what easily could've been an eternity, until we both realised that the hug had gone on for a moment too long. I only noticed how much taller than me he was after we finally stepped apart. As his eyes met mine, a flicker of guilt seemed to move across the endless golden pools. Before I could ask why, a petite-looking woman barrelled around the corner and right into us. She easily could've passed as half-faerie (with her bright green eyes and short stature) but I can recognise my own. She righted herself briskly and held out her hand while smiling brightly,

"I'm Clary, I take it you're the new Shadowhunter staying here?"

"Not quite new, but yes I'm Ava Blackthorn, originally from the Los Angeles Institute", I hesitantly offered in reply, unsure as to how much Clary already knew about me. I shook her hand and glimpsed a strange expression on Jace's face in my peripheral vision. Brief introductions were made, as we started to stroll towards the centre of the Institute. The high ceilings and ornate rooms encouraged a wave of relaxation all through my usually tense frame, reminding me of simpler times. I could almost see us as children racing through the halls, chasing Jace and Isabelle through each corridor as Alec shouted after us. I was caught in the middle of remembering when we entered the library where the Lightwood siblings were waiting for us. Alec and Isabelle, so different but still somehow exactly the same, both looked so happy to see me that I thought I might still be day-dreaming. Isabelle ran up in her high-heeled boots and hugged me, while Alec wavered awkwardly behind her. She held my face in her hands as she said,

"I missed you so much Ava! You have no idea how hard it was dealing with these two idiots after you left, they were totally unbearable until Clary stumbled in here."

It came out in such a rush of syllables that I barely processed it before Jace and Alec jumped in simultaneously with a perturbed "HEY!" A giggle bubbled out of my throat, quickly becoming full-on laughter as we all sank back into our usual quips and easy conversation. All, except Clary, who seemed puzzled and unsatisfied standing alone by the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two - The Institute That Never Sleeps

Turning my head on the pillow for the hundredth time, I let out a beleaguered sigh and forced myself to sit up. Glancing up at the clock on the wall, the time glared at me accusingly. 1:12am. My mouth felt drier than Satan's elbow, so it seemed like a good idea to trek to the kitchen for a glass of water. I ran my fingertips along the cool stone wall of the corridor as I walked. I was standing against the kitchen wall, head tipped back and my eyes closed in thought when I heard footsteps near the door.

"Can't sleep either?" said Jace softly, leaning against the doorframe.

"I thought I'd be ready to come back, to finally be home again, but..." I let my voice trail off, not even sure what I would've said.

He nodded knowingly and I was relieved that he hadn't asked me to explain. I confessed how strange it had been today, that although catching up with everyone was amazing, I'd still felt uneasy.

"It might be this place; all the memories we have here but the infinite memories we missed out on."

"I think about that sometimes." He admitted.

"I never heard from you, Jace. Why?"

Once again, the eternal well of tears behind my eyes started to swell as I asked him that crucial, horrible question. He began to shrug out of habit but stopped himself, he seemed to be weighing up how much he should reveal. To my disappointment he just said, "maybe my letters got lost in the post, it happens all the time" while turning away so I couldn't see his face. Unsatisfied, I walked up to him and hugged him from behind, letting my head rest against his back and my arms settle around his waist.

"I don't believe that for a second. Don't you think I deserve the truth?"

I felt Jace's muscles cringe under my hands after I said it but he relaxed a moment later, turning back towards me. He leaned down slightly and pulled me closer, so that his head was on my shoulder. I was grateful that I was pretty tall, even though I still had to stand on my tiptoes. With one arm around my waist and the other cradling my back he whispered, "I didn't want to remember you, of course I didn't. When you arrived I finally had someone who understood what I was going through without pitying me. You were the best friend I needed, then you were gone." We stayed there, both mourning the time we'd lost until I pulled away and smiled weakly at him. With no more words left and no energy to find new ones, we retreated to our rooms in a daze. My bed had never seemed so welcoming.

I opened my eyes blearily to a darkened forest, statuesque pines and firs reaching up to the sky. The mossy ground was soft as a pillow under the soles of my bare feet and the air was heady with the scent of orange blossom. I saw a trail of Queen Anne's Lace flowers leading further into the trees and in my dizzied state I followed them, led by the hand of my own childlike curiosity. Up ahead of me was a softly flowing river, with a small yet elaborate wooden bridge curling over it. I looked into my reflection in the surface of the clear water, soon realising that it was moving independently of my physical body. It voicelessly beckoned me into the river, so I climbed up onto the edge of the bridge and let myself tip backwards, falling into the welcoming water.

Someone's hands were on my shoulder when I woke with a gasp, shooting up from the bed. Clary was leaning over me, a tentative smile resting easily on her face.

"Hey, are you alright? We were all going to get breakfast and I wondered if you wanted to come with us, but you hadn't woken up yet. I think the others wanted me to let you rest but I was worried you'd miss out."

I nodded wearily and forced a smile, internally bewildered at the strange dream. When we met the others in the library Jace seemed quieter than usual, not offering half as many of his trademark witty (if a bit snide) comments. There was a shadow under his eyes. I ignored it to spare him the embarrassment and kept my conversation with Clary, who was debating the classic pancakes vs waffles argument with Isabelle. And so we all stepped out of the Institute together, my hair catching the dawn light like liquid gold. I felt more at home than I ever have, ready for anything (or so I thought.)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Rematch

What I was not ready for, was how much our familiar haunts had changed. The outside of the diner looked innocuous as per usual. Although, it had obviously gone under some renovations since the last time I'd visited. The neon sign, reading "Taki's", no longer sputtered and was neatly framed above the door. The two men guarding it smiled at me as I walked through, after a cursory glance at my pointed ears and long hair. At our corner table, I slid into the sofa seat near the window and Jace hesitantly joined me after Clary took the chair next to Izzy.

Almost as soon as we had settled, a waitress sauntered over to the table. I found myself entranced by her eyes, which were black as pitch. Jace introduced her as Kaelie Whitewillow and I noticed Clary cringing in my periphery, much to my confusion. Kaelie smirked at me in a way that made my throat clench, stoppering any words that may have been brave enough to escape. Izzy explained Kaelie's short but sordid history with Jace while he sat in uneasy silence next to me. We were pushed together in order to fit in the corner booth and I could feel the minuscule space between our bodies so strongly it was almost tangible. Like a breath held in anticipation, or the pause before a fall.

By the time we'd gotten back to the Institute, I could barely stand being in the same room as Jace's immovable bad mood. Even a Taki's breakfast hadn't cheered him up. In a last-ditch effort to raise his spirits, I asked him to spar with me - _maybe I can finally win this time_.

As we set up for our reunion match, I could already see Jace's tell-tale smirk begin to creep slowly into place. Part of me wanted to throw the whole thing, let him win, but he would know. Going easy on Jace never ended well – wounded pride and all. So, I took my stance and a slow intake of breath, emptying my mind of anything outside the room. Jace was the first to act – leaping forward to strike me in the side of the ribs. I side-stepped and used the motion to spin my leg towards him. He countered with his forearm, muscles tensing under the impact. Using my imbalance against me he pressed forward, his right fist catching me in the stomach. Stumbling back, I suppressed a smile.

"Don't get all soft on me now, Ava. I thought this was at least going to be an entertaining fight," Jace said in a mocking tone.

I responded by taking a run at him, sliding on the ground between his legs and coming up behind with a jab to back of his knee. Following swiftly with a kick to the back, Jace should've hit the floor. Instead, he used the momentum to roll forward onto his feet – wincing a little. We readied ourselves for the next few moments, the last breaths of the fight. Pacing around each other, the tension in the room felt like pure electricity. We fell into a rhythm of striking and countering, stepping and turning. What started as calculated sparring became a dance, each of us moving in turn with the other. I mistakenly relaxed just enough for Jace to catch my arm and twist it behind my back, holding me against his chest. Something about how his breath brushed over my neck made me incredibly aware of the way my body moulded into his.

We held ourselves there for what must have been only a few seconds, but it felt like years. Eventually I had to break the silence.

"Almost got you there. Maybe next time," I said softly.

He released me from the hold but didn't step away.

"You wish. I didn't even stumble, in fact, I could beat you with both hands tied behind my back!"

An unruly chuckle escaped from my lips.

"Totally going to take you up on that sometime."

I looked up with a cautious smile and realized that Jace was smiling too. A real one, not his usual self-satisfied grin. We shook hands and I strolled to my room in a daze. We'd had fun. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt so comfortably joyful, even losing didn't seem so bad. - _God, what am I doing? Jace is my friend, and I'm not sure what this feeling is but it's not right._

After a few minutes of thinking to myself, I threw on my heavy wool coat and briskly strode out of the Institute. A purposeful walk always soothed me, especially in New York. I stopped a few miles later at a sweet little café/bookshop near Central Park. It was tucked into the side of a building, small but cosy. The bookshelves lined every wall and the scent of coffee beans lingered in the air. After ordering a gingerbread latte, I wandered through the titles on the shelves, waiting for something to catch my eye. A neatly bound crime fiction in the corner seemed pretty interesting, so I bought it and curled into the corner of the café, ready to lose myself in another story.


End file.
